Hi I'm Michelle, known as Lion Art in social media & digital art world... here's a little bit about my journey as an artist. I was born to draw, & loved it from a very young age. At 16 yrs I was accepted into Melbourne School Of Art on my portfolio, & I planned on becoming a working artist in fine art. However by the time I graduated my life had changed & I needed immediate employment, so went into graphic design. I soon realised it wasn't what I expected... there was little drawing involved, most was design of brochures, logos etc..it wasn't creative enough, but I had to deal with it. My life was complicated & I didn't have time to nurture my art skills so it became a distant memory. I was diagnosed with a rare illness at 30yrs old, everything changed.... I couldn't work anymore, the pain made most things impossible & I was on a revolving door to doctors, hospitals & naturapaths. Operations, trial treatments.... complications that came close to ending my life numerous times.... I was sick of being sick. While in recover from a really bad period I needed to shift focus & started to draw again. It felt great, but it was like I was a total beginner again... I lost & forgotten all the skills I had. At one point a nurse I was friendly with showed me his friends digital art.... it was amazing, & I felt the passion I once had come looking back. That was 4 yrs ago, since then I've been studying & working hard on regaining my lost skills & last year began working as a freelance illustrator. It's such a gift to have a second chance at my dreams of working as an artist..... although I'm still unwell, I can tailor my work around this & am so very grateful. I now also run a critique group, have a YouTube channel to share what I have learnt & continue to learn with others... Corel Software (a global giant in the digital art world), titled me as a Painter Master this year. I'm basically sponsored by them as a brand ambassador & affiliate. They commision work from me as well as creating tools & teaching through webinars & tutorials. My art has been selected for exhibitions & collaborations with other artists world wide, & in between book covers, concept art & commisions, I work on personal projects which I exhibit & sell privately. I'm looking forward to trying out new styles & working with more traditional mediums again soon. Thank you for checking out my work & a little about me. - Lion |
